A taste of community and an iconic legacy

At the Global Food Markets in Logan Central, you can find produce from across the world, treat yourself to huge, delicious dishes and get swept away in a treat for the senses. The bustling markets are a City of Logan icon. 

Keen cooks, food bloggers, farmers and more than 100 stallholders mingle with families, cooking newbies and interstate visitors each Sunday; they come for the food and stay for the vibe.  

For manager Dean Khieu, it’s important the markets retain their character – one that was implemented by his dad, Global Food Markets founder Paul Khieu. 

At the beginning, the market consisted of a group of stalls featuring Cambodian fare – a way for Logan-based farmers, many of whom were refugees, to sell their produce each week. 

‘Dad was very involved with the Ethnic Communities Council of Logan as a volunteer before he took over running it. They helped my dad, and then he helped them,’ Dean says. 

‘He started the markets as a way of giving a platform to the people – then mainly Cambodian – who had farms, for them to sell their products. They already sold some of their products to Dad, who ran an Asian supermarket, but he could only take so much stock.’ 

From humble beginnings, word began to spread, with stallholders from all over the world joining. 

‘Geographically, the market is in the ethnic hub of Logan – Cambodians, Burmese, African, Middle Eastern, Indian people all came here and so the markets evolved,’ Dean says. 

As word-of-mouth spread, the market began to form the personality and vibrancy for which it is still renowned today.  

Dean took over running the market 8 years ago when his dad stepped down for health reasons – and starting marketing them online. 

‘The word-of-mouth method that dad used helped establish us, but I focused on having an online presence, being proactive on social media and encouraging people to leave reviews – so we started reaching people who had never heard of the markets before,’ he says. 

No matter how in-demand the markets become, though, Dean says keeping community at its heart is key. 

‘We are not there to make a profit. We reinvest the money we make so we can keep costs low for stallholders and customers. It keeps that vibe and means everyone can enjoy huge dishes and great quality produce,’ he says. 

‘It is like a family and a lot of people have been there for many years and have known me since I was a kid.’ 

Dean helps set up and pack down each week, and sees real connections made at the markets. 

‘The conversations between customers, or between customers and stallholders, are really engaging and it’s like a hangout space – people will sit at a stall and chat throughout the morning,’ he says. 

‘People find a piece of their hometowns here – even the young people. They might be Aussies, but we will always need to have somewhere where people can really connect with their culture through food. 

‘I want to set it up as a market that, when my time passes, can run itself, continue always going and stay community based.’ 

Dean is focused now on establishing a wider social media presence – having already embraced Facebook and Instagram, he’s dipping his toe into Tik Tok.  

As for Paul – Dean says while his dad is a man of few words, he knows hestill feels proud of the market that he nurtured from humble beginnings. 

‘He is so happy about where it is, and he can just walk through and say hello to everyone and enjoy that feeling of seeing it all without having to worry about the day-to-day things,’ Dean says. 

‘To me, that is ideal.’ 

Find Global Food Markets at their website, Facebook, Instagram and Tik Tok.